1448 Chapter 38
ganged, and the settings of many controls may be
recalled using presets or subpresets. Presets recall the
settings of all the controls in the system, while subpre-
sets recall the settings of just a selected subset of the
controls. Controls may also be edited to change their
style, size, color, and orientation. This capability allows
the designer to develop a very user-friendly interface.
Often bitmaps may be inserted to serve as backgrounds.
Besides the virtual interface, some systems require
physical interfaces. To support this requirement, most
virtual sound processors provide remote control capa-
bility in addition to their virtual control surfaces. Some
have a few front panel controls available, Fig. 38-9A.
Many virtual sound processors provide control inputs to
which external switches or level controls may be
connected. Control outputs allow lamps and relays to be
driven. Serial control interfaces using RS 232, RS 485, or
MIDI are often available. Some processors also provide
Ethernet interfaces. Others have dedicated program-
mable remote control panels. When remote control needs
are extensive, but the user interface must be simple, touch
screen operated control systems such as by AMX or
Crestron are often used. These usually control the virtual
audio processor by means of serial RS232, RS485, or
Ethernet control lines, Figs. 38-9A– E.
Designing and using a virtual sound processor is
similar to designing an analog system, except that you
have the ability to more precisely optimize the system.
The cost of each individual virtual device is very low,
and you have the ability to wire precisely the configura-
tion you need. Thus designs may be more efficient, and
may also more exactly meet the system requirements.Figure 38-6. Virtual sound processors by Biamp, BSS, Peavey, QSC, and Yamaha.Figure 38-7. A simple example of a virtual sound processor schematic from QSC.C. Peavey's MediaMatrix NION N6 virtual signal processor.E. Yamaha's DME Satellite Series virtual signal processors.A. The Biamp Audia family of virtual signal processors.B. One of the BSS Audio London series of virtual
signal processors.D. QSC's BASIS series of virtual signal processors.